Consumer Affairs , Global consumption continued to mirror the world’s distribution of wealth. With more than one billion people still mired in absolute poverty in 1993, some 800 million consumers were unable to purchase sufficient amounts of food. Industrialized countries consumed 15 times as much paper, 10 times as much steel, and 12 times as much fuel per person as less developed countries. Incomes of the richest one-fifth of the world’s population were, on average, more than 150 times higher than those of the poorest one-fifth.

Consumption trends were also influenced by the continuing rapid globalization of markets and the formation of regional economic blocks. The increased trade in goods and services was generally viewed as beneficial to consumers--providing them with wider choices of products at more competitive prices. On the other hand, there were also concerns that the regional "harmonization" of product safety standards and other trade requirements could lead to a significant lowering of existing consumer- and environmental-protection measures in some countries. In many countries--particularly those experiencing deepening poverty, deteriorating living standards, and reduced social spending--consumer organizations sought to ensure that basic, essential products remained within reach of low-income and marginalized consumers. Growth of the global consumer movement was especially strong in Central America, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and southwestern Asia.

World Consumer Rights Day, commemorated annually on March 15, provided a global platform for local campaigns by consumer organizations and other public-interest groups. A long-running consumer campaign was also renewed at the UN following the final breakdown of its previous negotiations on a draft Code of Conduct on Transnational Corporations (TNCs). The world consumer movement, led by the International Organization of Consumers Unions (IOCU), urged the UN to adopt a more acceptable and timely set of provisions to guide the foreign operations of TNCs and promote their fair treatment by host countries.

Jan. 1, 1993, marked the long-anticipated arrival of the European single market, encompassing some 345 million consumers in 12 countries of the European Community (EC). Its establishment as the world’s largest trading bloc made it illegal for any EC country to restrict the passage or sale of any product manufactured or imported by another member country. The complete removal of regional trade barriers was expected to create a brighter shopping future for EC consumers. Cross-border advice centres began operating in several countries as the European Bureau of Consumers Unions and its members called for better consumer information, higher safety standards, effective and adequate redress mechanisms, and transparent, inexpensive ways for consumers to make cross-border payments.

The endurance of consumers in Central and Eastern Europe was severely tested by the continuing uphill struggle to establish functional free markets in their countries. Regional governments acknowledged the need to establish basic frameworks and legislation for consumer protection, with support from consumer organizations. Many of those groups also monitored markets for hazardous products, monopolistic pricing, and other rampant abuses while addressing dire environmental problems resulting from decades of uncontrolled industrial pollution.

In North America and Asia, the future of two regional economic alliances promised to have far-reaching consequences for consumers. The controversial North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was intended to establish a single market of more than 370 million consumers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) tried to hammer out differences blocking the formation of an ASEAN Free Trade Area, which could encompass well over 1.5 billion consumers within 15 years.

The snail-paced Uruguay round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which began in 1986, was successfully concluded before the Dec. 15, 1993, deadline. The U.S. and the EC agreed to set aside for future consideration a few unresolved issues. The trade agreement, which would have far-reaching implications for more than 100 nations, was the broadest and most important international trade pact in history and would take effect on July 1, 1995. The GATT accord was expected to infuse more than $270 billion a year into the world economy.

Consumer organizations also requested greater participation in the setting of international food standards by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Codex Alimentarius Commission. The institution drew heavy criticism for being dominated by industry representatives from northern countries, with consumers and representatives from less developed countries having much weaker access in comparison.

Reforms in the Codex Alimentarius Commission were among some 100 recommendations made by a new consumer policy paper on food quality adopted by European and North American members of the IOCU. The paper also urged that specific controls and prohibitions be placed on some unsafe pesticides, food additives, growth hormones, veterinary drugs, and biotechnology and food-irradiation processes in order to ensure the quality and safety of consumers’ food supplies.

As more people became aware of serious environmental problems linked to wasteful consumption, a large percentage appeared willing to recycle their waste and pay higher prices for so-called green products. In June the EC launched a new "eco-labeling" program that would award a seal of approval to products meeting stringent environmental criteria. Green testing--evaluating the actual environmental impact of products--became an area of increasing interest and importance for consumer groups around the world. In May consumer leaders and representatives from more than 40 countries met in The Hague to discuss strategies for advocating sustainable consumption. A global policy paper was also launched that called on developed countries to take the lead in achieving sustainable consumption patterns. Kevin G. Cook

In 1993 home-equity credit cards came under attack by Bankcard Holders of America and the Consumer Federation of America as irresponsible on the part of banks. Bankers advertised the cards as a financing tool for homeowners that combined low interest rates with federal tax deductibility. Consumer advocate groups were opposed to these credit cards because consumers could lose their homes if they did not pay off their equity card balances.

The Federal Aviation Administration continued to investigate the impact of electronic gadgets on aircraft instrumentation operations. It was found that electronic apparatuses emit electromagnetic radiation that has a range up to 3.7 m (12 ft) and can create problems for an aircraft’s navigation equipment and disrupt radio signals from the airport control tower during landing. Portable phones, remote-control toys, and other radio transmitters had been banned on airplanes for many years, but most airlines allowed passengers to use cassette players, tape recorders, and laptop computers. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an advisory in February that left it to the airlines to set their own rules. At the request of pilots, a number of airlines expanded their list of electronic devices forbidden for use by passengers.

Consumers became more concerned about the hazards of going to hospitals as studies reported that nearly 30% of hospitalized patients suffered from errors in medications or adverse reactions to the drugs they were given. It was reported that 100,000 deaths a year are caused by hospital-acquired infections. More than 50% of operating-room deaths were attributed to errors in surgery and/or anesthesia. Consumer groups such as the Center for Medical Consumers believed that the privately financed Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations was not effective in correcting problems because the agency received its funding from the hospitals.

The Federal Communications Commission issued rulings against "slamming"--switching customers from one long-distance phone service to another without their permission. Under the rulings, if a company sold a long-distance service over the telephone, it had to obtain a written authorization to switch the service, have the consent verified by telephone to an independent third party, or send the consumer information, including a postpaid postcard for the consumer to return if the service was not wanted.

Automobile lemon laws passed by states in earlier years came under review by consumer advocate groups in 1993. Between 1982 and 1993 every state but Arkansas and South Dakota had passed a lemon law. Most states defined a lemon as a new car that had been in the repair shop for 30 days or had been returned to the dealer for the same problem four times within the first year of ownership. Consumer advocate groups believed the laws were weak because many states allowed the automobile manufacturer to run the mandated arbitration process. In some cases it was found that manufacturers forced to take back an automobile shipped the car out of state to unsuspecting buyers in the used-car market. Of 11,000 arbitration cases handled nationally by the Better Business Bureau in 1991, 1,500 resulted in consumers’ receiving a replacement car or a full refund.

From 1991 to 1993 consumer confidence in the safety of products sold in supermarkets slipped, according to the Food Marketing Institute, a trade association representing supermarkets. In 1991, 17% of those surveyed said they were completely confident the food they bought in a supermarket was safe. By 1993 only 13% were completely confident, while almost 25% were concerned about the products they bought. As a result of consumer complaints and television coverage of supermarket violations of health and safety standards, states increased their inspections of markets and publicly named those markets violating the law.